Before: Main Entrance

Let's start the tour at the gate leading onto the Hoofards' property. Sitting center stage in the large driveway is a circular planting bed with an unusual fountain. Regardless of what the letters spell out, this fountain is not very welcoming.

After: Main Entrance

After removing the globe fountain, the front planting bed was revamped with new tropical and drought-resistant foliage, as well as a kick-butt new cougar fountain.

Before: Front Entryway

Chase (age 4) and his faithful companion Maggie are looking forward to the remodel of the home’s entryway.

After: Front Entryway

We asked you to vote on the front door color, you overwhelmingly selected red. New pavers line the steps and walkway.

Before: Front Yard

The front of the home looked a little tired with its overabundance of concrete. The portico is out-of-proportion with its too-skinny wood columns and uneven brick light posts.

After: Front Yard

The portico columns and light posts were redone in stacked stone. The new red door, redwood fence and pergola all match the terra cotta roof to create a cohesive look.

Before: Exterior

Before Connie and Jason acquired this place, the house was home to Connie’s father’s construction business and her brother-in-law's contracting business. So the yard was never manicured for family leisure time, it was used to park dump trucks and heavy equipment.

After: Exterior

Viola! No walls or windows were replaced, but the house looks completely different thanks to a new coat of paint, board-and-batten shutters and a timber-framed pergola over the entry. The lush landscaping makes for a park-like setting. Instead of a water-hungry lawn, drought-tolerant plants and low-maintenance groundcovers were used because they’re more likely to thrive in the hot, dry climate. The tiered fountain lends an elegant Southwestern flair and complements the stucco-surfaced home.

Before: Gazebo

In the front yard is a covered patio. The neighbors think the double-domed pink structure is hideous, but Connie loves the gazebo and all the shade it provides.

After: Gazebo

Before we started the makeover, we asked our readers to vote on some of the landscape plans. One of the elements you voted for was the pretty tiered fountain. Good choice. It makes the yard feel like a park or botanical garden.

Before: Outdoor Furniture

The gazebo has an interesting story. Connie’s dad knew some masonry workers who were hired to build the structures at a San Antonio library. They needed a place to practice their work, so Connie’s father offered up his property. Inside the domes, the ceiling is lined with intricate brickwork, similar to that used by the Mexican brick culture of the Rio Grande Valley.

After: Outdoor Furniture

The gazebo has become a beautiful outdoor kitchen, living and dining room. The floor was lined with square patio pavers (which you voted for). Up above, wrought-iron candle chandeliers cast light down on the wicker furniture (which you also voted for). In the background sits the new fireplace and pizza oven.

Before: Front Walkway

The front entry is a little less than welcoming. The grass is almost as brown as the wood beams while the mixed-match concrete and patio pavers makes for a dangerous trip hazard.

After: Front Walkway

Two of the design choices you voted for were the paint color for the door and the new house numbers. Nice work. The Spanish-red door is a perfect accompaniment to the soft adobe-colored stucco and mahogany-stained pergola. The modern font used for the house numbers gives the entry a contemporary vibe.

Before: Corner Street View

A previous home improvement project to take down a bulky brick pergola had spiraled out of control, leaving a front yard in ruins. With the Ruffins unable to fix the mess, the rubble-covered lawn was left in a state of deterioration.

After: Corner Street View

In just two days, this corner-lot yard was transformed from an unsightly mess into a visually distinctive showpiece. Perfectly manicured from all angles, it no longer bears the brunt of neighbor complaints.

Before: Front Yard

"X" marks the spot in this frightening front yard. A giant boulder bearing a permanent "x" had become a neighborhood landmark of sorts. As weeds overtook the lawn, the boulder was the only visual statement in this yard, albeit an unusual one.

After: Front Yard

With the boulder removed and lush green sod in place, the newly remade front yard is both beautiful and functional.

Before: Side Yard

A terrible eyesore to neighbors across the street, the right side of the house needed more than just a coat of paint.

After: Side Yard

To provide more privacy and cover the bare wall, trees were planted alongside the house. The treeline of a Cooktown Tulipwood, a 24-foot Carrotwood and, the homeowner's favorite, a Mexican Fan Palm, make for a beautifully scenic space.

Before: Front Walkway

The view of the home's front was impeded by a rotting tree. A less-than-appealing concrete and gravel walkway was in dire need of an overhaul.

After: Front Walkway

With the rotting tree removed and a new front walkway in place, the entry to the home is open and inviting. Five tons of crushed stone, three tons of leveling sand and 200 pieces of Noche Travertine tile went into this beautiful new entryway.

Before: Garage Door

The garage door was the most visible element of the entire home. Unfortunately, this bland facade stood out even more due to a lack of landscaping.

After: Garage Door

A sophisticated grid design on the garage door adds visual interest and complements the new steel pergola.

Before: Street View

Strolling the street may have been a frightening experience. You can barely see the house through all the visual clutter.

After: Street View

With the dead tree removed and a new front walkway connecting to the city sidewalk, the home's new look is both inviting and visually distinctive. Located at the entrance to the neighborhood, the Ruffin's home now serves as a beautiful gateway to the community.

Before: Front Yard

Earlier, a contractor debacle and an unfinished garage-addition project resulted in a home improvement disaster. Moreover, the yard had become so overgrown and turned into such a neighborhood eyesore that neighbors (at least for the purposes of the "Most Desperate Landscape" entry video) took up the role of angry villagers and started an uprising.

After: Front Yard

More than 250 new plantings, a new turf lawn, and a reworked walkway and front facade help soften the street view and transform the Stochmal's residence into one of the neighborhood's more visually appealing homes.

Before: Front Awning and Roof

At the home's side entrance, a tattered banner tarp covers a portion of the exterior where siding is missing.

After: Front Awning and Roof

In a first for Desperate Landscapes, this home makeover includes the addition of a screened porch where the distressed side entrance had been. All-new landscaping surrounds the porch addition. Adding the new porch required demolishing the damaged brick stairs that previously led to the side door.

Before: Along the Driveway

A garage with no driveway, crumbling stairs and two separate front entrances made for a frightening first impression for this home.

After: Along the Driveway

Thirty tons of boulders were used in the landscape makeover, including for the two-tiered retaining wall and planting area where a weed-infested hillside once was. A row of 20 densely planted boxwoods creates a green fence.

Before: View From the Road

This charming old house doesn't deserve this very sad, neglected landscape; that's why we chose it as the winner of this year's most desperate landscape. The out-of-control weeds, crumbling stairs and a huge stump in the yard are just a few of the problems in this most-desperate Dexter, MI, yard.

After: View From the Road

A new paint job and complete landscape overhaul make passers-by stop and stare. The crumbling stairs have been removed from the front yard and the old retaining wall has been filled in to transform the front yard into one huge planting bed. The angled plantings draw the eye up to the cute little house.

Before: Right Side of Yard

The house is barely visible behind all the overgrowth. Hidden under all the weeds are gorgeous stone boulders waiting to be incorporated into the new landscape.

After: Right Side of Yard

The weeds are gone and a new walkway has been laid to guide visitors up to the house. The canopy of tall trees shades the landscape and walkway in this park-like setting.

Before: Patio

The outdoor furniture looks lost and forgotten about on this weed-forsaken patio.

After: Patio

The new stone patio looks like it belongs to a fancy estate house. The fountain, ornamental plantings and new patio furniture would make a great setting for a swanky cocktail party or high tea.

Before: Front Yard

This weedy, uneven yard has nearly impenetrable soil and tons of loose rock. The homeowners Kevin Richards and Marni Ratzel of Niwot, Col., termed it "rocky, rugged and ragged."

After: Front Yard

Before: Driveway

Oversized trees dwarf the house and its bare, rocky yard. The old garage door adds to the neglected look of the landscape.

After: Driveway

The new garage door and driveway are flanked by a green oasis. The too-tall trees are gone and in their place are beautiful plants that won't overwhelm the house or yard.

Before: Front View

This home includes garish paint, a patio door that's never used and an unkempt addition. The driveway, which takes up most of the front yard, leads directly to the front door.

After: Front View

The driveway has been moved 15 feet to the left of the old driveway, opening up the front of the house for lawn. The roof color dictated the color of the house and the pavers. The ugly addition is a thing of the past.

Before: Landscaping

Due to it’s poorly-maintaned grass, cluttering bamboo and overgrown weeds, this front yard is in desperate need of a makeover.

After: Landscaping

Transform that eye sore, aka a red fire hydrant, into a statement piece for your curb appeal instead of ignoring the curb all together! A well manicured yard helps maintain value in the home.